COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 15/13 ranked and No. 4 seeded Ohio State women’s basketball team (26-6, 13-5 B1G) defeated No. 13 seeded Montana State (30-4, 17-1 Big Sky) by a 71-51 margin on Friday evening in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Buckeyes clinched their fourth consecutive appearance in the second round.

Each team had a 7-0 run in the first quarter and the Bobcats tied the game at 17 in the final seconds of the first. The Buckeyes scored the final nine points in a second quarter full of runs, taking a 32-27 lead into the locker room. Ohio State opened the third quarter with a 15-0 run and outscored Montana State by a 23-10 mark in the quarter to build a 55-37 lead. The Buckeyes wrapped up the game with a 16-14 fourth quarter.

Cotie McMahon was the first Buckeye to reach double figures and finished with 15 points. Chance Gray totaled 15 points as she made 5-of-8 shots from behind the arc. Jaloni Cambridge (12), Taylor Thierry (16) and Ajae Petty (11) also scored in double figures as all five starters had at least 10 points.

How it Happened
McMahon opened the game’s scoring with a layup before Montana State got on the board with a three-pointer. The Buckeyes made back-to-back jumpers, but the Bobcats used a 7-0 run to take a 10-6 lead with six minutes remaining in the quarter. Ohio State tied the game at 10 going into the media timeout. The Buckeyes used a 7-0 run to take a 17-12 lead, but the Bobcats tied the game at 17 in the final seconds of the quarter.

The Buckeyes scored the first six points of the second quarter to take a 23-17 lead with 7:19 to play before halftime. Montana State scored its first points of the quarter a little more than three minutes into the frame and took a 27-23 lead at the midway point of the quarter following a 10-0 run. Ohio State wrapped up the half with the final nine points to take a 32-27 lead into the locker room.

Gray made a trio of three-pointers to open the third quarter, pushing the Buckeyes’ lead to 41-27 with 8:42 to play in the third. Ohio State extended its run to 15-0 and its lead to 47-27 just three minutes into the quarter. The Buckeyes’ lead was 53-30 going into the media timeout with 4:13 to play in the quarter after scoring six points in under a minute. OSU held the 55-37 advantage after 30 minutes.

Ohio State began the fourth quarter with back-to-back layups and led by a 68-45 margin just past the midway point of the quarter after a layup from Thierry. Scoring was capped at 71-51 on a second-chance layup from Petty.

Match Notes 

• The Buckeyes hold a 33-28 record in the NCAA Tournament.
• Ohio State has made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament each of the past four seasons.
• All five OSU starters scored in double figures.
• The Buckeyes are 22-1 this season when scoring at least 70 points.
• This is the Buckeyes’ 16^th game of the season with four or more double-figure scorers.
• This is the 21^st game of the season that Ohio State has forced 20 or more turnovers. Montana State finished with 26 turnovers.
• This is the Buckeyes’ 24^th game of the season with 10 or more steals as OSU finished with 14 steals today.
• Cotie McMahon was the first Buckeye in double figures, scoring at least 10 points for the 25^th time this season. She finished with 15 points.
• Chance Gray was 5-of-8 (.625) from behind the arc today, the fifth game of the season she’s made five or more triples. This is her 19^th double-figure game of the season.
• Jaloni Cambridge’s 22^nd double-figure performance of the season was good for 12 points.
• Taylor Thierry reached double figures for the 16^th time this season as she had 16 points today. She was 8-of-13 (.615) from the floor.
• Ajae Petty scored in double figures for the 14^th time this season, finishing with 11 points.
• Q1: The Buckeye defense forced eight Bobcat turnovers and recorded five steals in the quarter.
• Q2: Ohio State didn’t allow a point in the final five minutes of the quarter.
• Q3: OSU scored the first 15 points of the quarter and had the 21-3 advantage in the quarter with 4:13 to play in the third. The Buckeyes wrapped up the quarter with a 23-10 advantage.
• Q4: Neither team scored more than four unanswered points in the quarter.

Up Next
Ohio State will take on the winner of the Tennessee vs. USF game on Sunday at a time to later be determined.

All session and single session tickets for the NCAA Women’s Basketball First and Second Rounds are on sale and can be purchased online HERE. Ohio State season tickets for the 2025-26 season are also available and can be purchased HERE for new season tickets and HERE for renewals. For ticketing information, please contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-(800)-GO-BUCKS or by emailing [email protected]. Representatives are available via phone Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.